What it is

Exhuming Franco from the Valley of the Fallen

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a royal decree-law. It was introduced on 24 August 2018. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Royal Decree-Law 10/2018, of 24 August, amending Law 52/2007, of 26 December, recognizing and expanding rights and establishing measures in favor of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the dictatorship.

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 130/000037· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

Only the remains of people who died as a result of the Spanish Civil War may rest in the Valley of the Fallen. The site is dedicated to commemoration, remembrance and equal tribute to the victims of the conflict.
A procedure is created to exhume and transfer remains of people who did not die in the war. The Council of Ministers makes the decision, starting and resolving the procedure.
The procedure guarantees that interested parties and relatives are heard and can take part. Relatives may decide where the remains go; if they disagree or stay silent, the Council of Ministers decides, ensuring a dignified burial. The procedure expires after twelve months.
The rule takes effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado).

Who it affects

Relatives of people buried in the Valley of the Fallen who did not die in the Civil War, because they can decide where those remains are reburied.: They may state the reburial place within fifteen days and take part in the procedure.
The Council of Ministers, which starts and directs the exhumation procedure and makes the final decision.: It must process the case with guarantees and decide through a reasoned agreement.
Interested parties in the procedure, both public and private.: They have the right to be heard, to make arguments within the set deadlines and to appeal to the courts.

Words worth knowing

Exhumación (exhumation): Digging up the remains of a deceased person from the ground or a tomb.
Reinhumación (reburial): Burying a person's remains again in a different place.
Consejo de Ministros (Council of Ministers): The body made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers, which makes the Government's main decisions.
Real decreto-ley (royal decree-law): A rule with the force of law that the Government can pass in cases of extraordinary and urgent need, without going through Congress first.
Caducidad del procedimiento (expiry of the procedure): If the procedure is not resolved within the set period, here twelve months, it becomes void.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

Introduced24 August 2018Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
Admitted4 September 2018The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
Amendmentsno dateGroups propose changes.
Committeeno dateA committee goes through the text in detail.
Plenary4 September 2018All 350 deputies vote.
Senateno dateThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
BOEno dateIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.

See the 4 official steps on a timeline

13 September 2018

How did the plenary vote?

More votes in favour 208 yes · 6 no · 128 abst.

Voted on: Processing as a Government bill by the urgent procedure of Royal Decree-Law 10/2018, of 24 August, amending Law 52/2007, of 26 December, recognizing and expanding rights and establishing measures in favor of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the dictatorship.

This law had 2 votes; this is the latest with every deputy’s vote. See them all

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, vote 5 of sitting 140· updated 10 Nov

Each dot is a seat. Tap one, or use the arrow keys, to see who it is.

Your province

How did the deputies from your province vote?

And your senators: the Senate does not link its votes to this law in its open data, so we cannot put them side by side here.

Or see how most of each province voted

More details: how each group and each province voted

The groups

Who voted in favour and who against?

In favour, most of Socialista, Vasco (EAJ-PNV), Mixto, Ciudadanos, Gcup-ec-em and GER. 8 deputies voted differently from their group.

By province: in 30 most voted in favour; in 0, against.

Coloured by how most of each province’s deputies voted.

In favour: 30
Against: 0
Abstained: 13
Tie: 9

Result by parliamentary group
Group	Seats	How it voted
Socialista	84	84 in favour
Vasco (EAJ-PNV)	5	4 in favour · 1 did not vote
Mixto	19	15 in favour · 2 against · 1 abst. · 1 did not vote
Ciudadanos	32	32 in favour
Gcup-ec-em	67	64 in favour · 3 did not vote
GER	9	8 in favour · 1 did not vote
Popular en el Congreso	134	1 in favour · 4 against · 127 abst. · 2 did not vote

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Royal Decree-Law 10/2018, of August 24, amending Law 52/2007, of December 26, recognizing and expanding rights and establishing measures in favor of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the Dictatorship.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

Congreso de los Diputados, file 130/000037
Official title, type, author, dates and stage.

Retrieved 11 November 2026
Congreso de los Diputados, vote 5 of sitting 140
The count and every seat’s vote.

Retrieved 10 November 2026
BOE, BOE-A-2018-11836
The law as published.

Retrieved 11 November 2026

The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error